Get ready. It’s coming soon. It’s new and fresh. It will tantalize your senses with a smorgasbord of mouthwatering sights and fresh picked flavors.
The Taste of Home Cooking School, the top culinary demonstration in the country, will be sponsored by the Daily Local News and presented live at Franklin Commons in Phoenixville on Thursday, March 11, from 7 to 9 p.m.
In today’s downsized economy, consumers are turning to home cooking in large numbers. Food provides a feel-good atmosphere. When coupled with family participation, meal preparation becomes a fun activity. Taste of Home Cooking School has a springtime garden of recipes that will bring family and friends together for rewarding mealtime gatherings.
Its culinary team knows consumers are looking for simpler, greener and cleaner recipes. Simpler means using only a few ingredients. Greener denotes local and sustainable, using fresh seasonal produce. Cleaner means more natural and providing health benefits.
The “Taste of Home Cooking School Brand Name Cookbook,” published specifically for the Cooking Schools, will include these current trends as well as timeless favorites. This $5.99 value will be presented to every guest who attends the show.
The latest cookbook from Taste of Home, “Comfort Food Diet Cookbook,” can be pre-ordered for $17.95 when guests purchase their tickets and will be available for pickup at the event. Additional copies will be available for sale the day of the show.
The book is filled with more than 430 recipes and tips, plus a simple-to-follow, budget-friendly diet plan. The book also offers access to online weight-loss tools.
You may not be able to travel as far or often these days, but Taste of Home offers a springtime food adventure, helping you experience new and exotic tastes. Imagine yourself at a French bistro. You culminate your dining experience with a fruit clafouti. Clafouti, pronounced kla-foo-tee, is a country-French dessert made by topping a layer of fresh fruit with batter. It is served hot and sometimes topped with cream.
Culinary specialist Karen Schwarck will be creating a mushroom variation of this dish that pairs well with a salad to become a light, satisfying springtime meal. Expand your cooking techniques as you watch her prepare a monter au beurre and learn how it differs from a beurre blanc sauce.
The program will showcase 10 recipes, new food products, kitchen shortcuts and plating techniques. Sprinkled in between recipes will be opportunities for lucky winners to receive special door prizes.
There are still a variety of sponsorship opportunities available for local businesses that might want to promote their products or services at the show. Vendor tables are still available for the trade show which will be held from 3 to 6 p.m. For information, call Arlene McGranaghan at 610-430-1184.
Volunteer are also needed for food preparation in the morning and to assist the culinary specialist during the show.
Tickets may be ordered at www.dailylocal.com/tasteofhome or by completing the form in the newspaper. Tickets are $12 each plus a shipping and handling fee of $1.50 for mail-order tickets. Seating is limited.
There will be a free wine tasting from Gallo Family Vineyards and food available for purchase from Franklin Bistro.
All guests will receive a reusable shopping back filled with gifts from show sponsors, including the “Taste of Home Cooking School Brand Name Cookbook” and a free one-year subscription to either Taste of Home Healthy Cooking or Simple & Delicious magazines.
Franklin Commons is located at 400 Franklin St., Phoenixville, at the corner of Grant and Franklin streets, just off Route 113.
(Photo Michael Hollenbeck/The Saginaw News)
